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Hellcat Squadran: Extinction
Thieves in the Dark It was a mostly quiet night in Paris. The main noises came from transportation that worked around the clock. The previous day had been a day dedicated to memorials for those who had fallen in the Skulblakan Invasion. In fact, it had been the anniversary of the Invasion's beginning. That entire week, businesses closed and only the most important of services still worked. Unfortunately, this meant that there was a lot of thievery about that week. And that is why she was there. A lone assassin was crouched on a gargoyle statue. Her target was a now infamous thief that had gained attention when they had successfully stolen a nuclear warhead the week prior. Her intel had said that he was going to strike again tonight, aiming for a large shipment of drones. She glanced to her left and saw a flying car approaching rapidly. ''This is all about the bull's eyes.'' She thought to herself. As it moved quickly toward her, she jumped forward with one foot, which caught the top of the car and she kept moving forward, jumping and grabbing a balcony railing. She hauled herself up and skillfully clambered up the side of the building and reached the roof. Her partner was sitting cross-legged on a ventilation unit, looking down at the small army base that was inside the city. "Evening, Leah." Serra said as she approached her from behind. Leah jumped off the vent and cracked a small smile under her good. "You're late." She joked. "Alright," She said, turning serious. "let's review the situation. He's arriving in an armored truck with seven guards, all of which are armed and armored heavily. Once he's inside, he needs to hack three computers to unlock the drone control. You just need to take him out before he finishes three of them." "I know all this, Leah. I also know what weapons each of the guards carry." Serra replied. "How do you know?" Leah asked. "Took the liberty of taking to the streets to ask the local homeless. I have a few less distractions in my life, Leah. How're the twins, by the way?" Serra asked. "They're doing alright. Vergil found out that they both inherited my mist powers. Though they also inherited my mother's lack of fine-tuned control over them." Leah replied. "What do you mean?" "You know what happened when my mother first gained mist powers?" Leah asked. "Madness?" Serra guessed. "Well, that wasn't directly a result of the powers. From what I've heard, she had no control over it, and her schoolwork would spontaneously combust." Leah explained. "And that's why I'm single." Serra quipped. "Nothing that serious. Just a spark for Drake and a cold spot around Regula." Leah told her. "Still don't want the responsibility." Serra replied, shrugging. "Besides, someone has to run things while you're out killing people." "Why do you think I've only been going along on missions close to home?" Leah asked. "Why'd you tag along this mission anyway? You know I can handle this stuff on my own." Serra checked. "Needed some time away. Good a place as any, really." Leah replied. "Alright, whatever." Serra said. The armored truck pulled up. "Before he hacks the computers? I'll do it before he gets through the door." Serra said and jumped down from the roof. Leah watched as Serra snuck up behind the truck as the guards and the target started to walk towards the gate. Once they were all through the gate, save two guards, Serra sprung from her cover and two knives show from her hands. The guards dropped, one with a blade in the throat, the other directly to his eye. Serra slipped past them and climbed over the gate. She quietly ran up behind the remaining five guards and used her hidden blades to bring down two, stabbing each in the back of the head, up into their skull. She rolled and stabbed a third in the kidneys from behind. By then, the two guards and her target had noticed her. She drew her karambits and made short work on the guards before simply stabbing forward into the middle of her target's neck and then slashing out to the side. "Well, that's a pass." Leah said to herself. Down in the carnage, Serra waved, a signal to meet her back at the bureau. Leah nodded and left. Serra focused her gaze on a shadow she could have sworn had moved. She saw it again, moving around the main building. She saw three people hopping the wall, one of which turned and met her gaze. A beautiful younger woman with the eyes of a warrior and the face of Aphrodite. She looked familiar as she jumped over the wall. Serra gave chase, but once she had hopped the wall herself, they had vanished. "Shit." Serra grumbled. "Where do I know you, beautiful...?" She muttered. Her mind flashed back to when she watched the news story on the Skulblakan Humans. She had definitely been at the scene of destruction in Veldton. ---- "Damn that was close..." Aednat muttered as she slipped aboard their ship mid-takeoff. She closed the door and sat down at the navigation table. She punched in the coordinates to their homeworld and the pilot, receiving these instructions, punched the hyperdrive and they were off into space. She closed the navigation computer and opened up the communications array. She typed in the secret number that would allow her to contact their leader, Katalena Akulov. The small red hologram formed on the table of Katalena's head and shoulders. "Hey boss." Aednat said. "Good to hear from you. Were you able to get out with anything?" Kata asked. "Several crates of medicines and food, but no intel. Before we could keep the heist going an assassin showed up. Thought it would be best to avoid any confrontation with the humans." Aednat explained. "You're right. You did the right thing. The medicine and food will certainly help, so I consider that a success. When you get back make sure you rest up and recover before we need anything else stolen. Good job, my friend." Kata said. Aednat nodded and closed the call. She passed the time by doing inventory on the haul. Their kind had needed to make heist trips to steal rations and medical supplies for the last several months due to their sudden influx of refugees. They numbered nearly four hundred now, and they simply didn't have the means to care for all of those people. "We doing good?" Xylia's voice said. Aednat looked over at her partner and nodded. "Yeah, nothing's missing, and none of the food has gone bad so far. Should last us another month or so." "Good. Hopefully we won't have to leave the world again." Xylia mused. "Yeah...some of the humans aren't bad but whenever one recognizes me I feel like they're thinking of all the best ways to kill me." Aednat admitted. "I know what you mean." Xylia said, nodding. It only took about three hours to land on their homeworld, and the pilot took them in to the small castle that Katalena had built as the headquarters for their kind. The castle was now surrounded by smaller facilities. Weapons forges, tailors, kitchens, numerous small operations that all worked to help build their kind's strength. The busiest was the doctor's facility, who was swamped nearly every day with people nursing injuries or sicknesses. They landed in the hangar, where Katalena was waiting for them. They opened the doors and rolled the food and medicine crates off the ship one by one. "Welcome back." Katalena said, hugging both Aednat and Xylia. "Aside from the assassin, did anybody see you at all?" "No. I think the assassin might have recognized me, though." Aednat said. "Alright. Then you know I can't let you off world for a while, then." Kata reminded her. "Yeah." Aednat nodded. "Rhett's off hunting, so you should go get some sleep while he's away. Xylia, walk with me?" Kata said. Aednat nodded and left while Xylia followed Kata. They want into Kata's private study in the castle. "While you were on Earth, did you hear anything form Morri at all?" Kata asked. "No. I haven't heard from them since I joined you." Xylia replied. "They haven't been attacked or anything?" Kata asked, concerned. "No, they've been doing well on their own." Xylia said. She put her hand on Kata's shoulder. "Morri and Axel will be fine, don't worry. They've got about thirty people like us there. Plus they've got Viv and Dex helping them out." Xylia assured her. "What about the two neutrals?" Kata asked. "Quickie has been missing since the day the group split. Mason still hasn't pulled is one head out of his ass and other head out of his girlfriend's yet." Xylia replied. "And Void?" Kata asked. "Unknown. Signs of him show up every now and then, but he vanishes every time." Xylia said. "Alright...I didn't want to do this, but we may need to alert the humans of his power and existence." Kata said, shaking her head. Xylia nodded. "Alright, let's set up the broadcast system and get this over with." Kata grumbled. ---- Morri sat down on the couch of the lounge, where she started to read the orders of supplies she had filled. They were living under the cover of her and Axel simply living in retirement in the mansion, and when anyone from down the mountains or Coalition officials came knocking, their people would hide in the tunnel system to avoid detection. The good thing about living on Earth was that she could use her mother's old bank accounts to buy basically all the supplies they needed. Since they didn't need to steal anything, they could focus all their energy on taking care of the young ones and trying to lure more of their kind their way rather than Kata's. She glanced out the window and saw Ileana playing with the other nine children that they had taken in. She was happy to see them have the chance to be kids, rather than having to be on the run and try to survive an invasion or war. Her tablet blinked, and she glanced down and saw that an order of supplies for self made clothes had arrived. She pressed a view buttons and called Dex. "Hey Dex, a shipment just arrived at the gate, can you go meet them?" She asked. "Alright, on my way now." Dex's voice replied. She hung up and rested her head back on the couch, sighing. She felt something sit down next to her and opened her eyes. "Wakey-wakey, boobycakes." Viv said to her, grinning. "Why do you keep calling me that?" Morri asked. "I mean, look, there aren't any there." "Exactly. Besides, you have easy that way." Viv said and rested her feet on the coffee table. Morri would normally tell her off for it, but she had recently realized that attempting to order Viv to do anything was a waste of life. "Well, what's up?" Morri asked. "You missed a broadcast Kata made." Viv said. She held up her own tablet, which Morri took. Kata's face was on it. Morri pressed play. "Hello again, people of the universe. Before you freak out and declare war, I have a warning for you. There is a member of my race that I consider an enemy of my kind. He is also an enemy of yours. His power is that nothing can harm him, and he can turn anything into nothing." Kata said. Void's face showed up on screen. "If you see this one, I'd advise running. I'm performing my own tests to try and bring him down, but you're welcome to try as well. Thank you for your time." She said and the message ended. "At least she's trying to be friendly." Morri said. Her tablet blinked again and she saw a message from one of her human friends, Zyana Reed. She opened it. ''Dean's missing, get down here now, at least to check on Sky.'' Zyana's message read. ''I'm on my way.'' Morri quickly typed. "Viv, you and Axel are in charge while I'm away." Morri said and made her way down to the tunnels. Once she was there, she opened a portal to the basement of her house on Kaven Base and jumped through it. She practically sprinted to Skylar's house and rapped her knuckles on the door. In moments, Zyana answered it. "Hey, thanks for coming." Zyana said. "Any day, where is she?" Morri asked. Zyana gestured for Morri to follow her, and led her to the nursery. Inside, they found Skylar sitting and watching the baby as she slept. "Hey..." Morri said carefully. "Hey..." Came Skylar's worried and depressed sounding response. "How're you holding up?" Morri asked. "Alright." Came Skylar's response, which both Zyana and Morri could tell was a lie. "Don't lie, Skylar. Walt did that enough." Morri said, trying to joke. "Just...what happened to him?" Skylar asked, though she knew neither of her friends was aware. There was a long moment of silence. "Serra says she'll keep an eye out for him on her missions, Sky." Zyana eventually said quietly. "Tell her I say thanks..." Skylar replied. "If you want a safer place to stay, I can take you to my new home." Morri offered. "I thought only-" Skylar quickly stopped herself, as if she was reconsidering her wording. "My kind is welcome?" Morri finished for her. "Only the most trusted humans can come there." Morri explained. "Well...I just...still, you sure your people would be alright with that? And what of SELAH? She still needs a place to stay, somewhere Serkan can keep an eye on her." "Offer's out there, all I'm saying." Morri replied. "Morri..." Zyana said, sounding oddly weak. "Can you wait outside a moment?" She asked, and Morri noticed she looked rather ill. Morri nodded slowly and left the room. "I...I think I know what happened, dear." Zyana said. "What?" Skylar asked, sounding nervous. "I...lied when I told you the demon in you would be wholly expunged. A part of it is still there." Zyana confessed. "What?!" Skylar exclaimed, eyes widening. She looked at the kid, panic in her eyes. "She's fine." Zyana quickly assured her. "I need you to tap into the demon part of you. Then you'll hear the whispers." "Whispers?" Skylar asked, sounding confused and nervous. "Just trust me." Zyana pleaded. Skylar shuddered slightly. "Just embrace that inner darkness, it'll come to you." Zyana instructed. Skylar closed her eyes and focused on all the dark impulses she had felt and resisted over the course of her life. Every time she had wanted to stab someone out of anger or sell herself out, she tapped into that, and soon, the whispers came. ''Cerith...are you listening?'' a whispering voice said. "Cerith is your demon name." Zyana informed her. "She is listening." ''I am holding your husband in my own little section of hell. If you want him back, you may attempt to come to me in an effort to convince me to release him. You will have to prove yourself worthy of entering our realm, however.'' The voice said. "Uh...how?" Skylar said. ''Something worthy of hell.'' The voice said, and then it was gone. "Why do I am a feeling it will make me hate myself?" Skylar asked her. "Well, it will probably be against everything your parents taught you growing up." Zyana replied. "Any ideas?" "No...aside from I'm going to hate myself." Skylar grumbled, eliciting a roll of the eyes from Zyana. "Well, there's murder of an innocent, torture of an innocent, take horrible revenge on someone, or, most harmlessly, bang any other man. Or me, for that matter." There was a moment of quiet. "I'm going to explain things to Morri, might be best if she takes off." Zyana said and left the room. After several moments, Zyana returned. "So, do I get to fuck you now?" She asked. To her surprise, Skylar's reply came in the form of a right hook to the jaw. Zyana hit the floor out in the hall. "Ow." She said. Skylar simply stood over her, glaring. "Jesus, I like it rough, but what the hell was that?" "My husband is missing and the only way to get him back is to do shit I would never do in a million years and all you fucking do is throw around idiotic quips like that!" Sky said angrily. "I have an itch." Zyana said, pointing at the jaw that hadn't been punched. "Do you mind?" She asked tauntingly. "Besides, I can give you the whip next time, anyway." Her snark was rewarded with a kick in the ribs. "Wooow, now it's a party!" Zyana yelled. She tripped Skylar and took her back, restraining her arms. "Listen for the voice, darling, listen..." Zyana whispered in her ear. Skylar's expression changed to one of confusion with a lot of anger underneath. ''Assaulting a friend for something so mild? My, my, my. I believe one of the seven is wrath. Which you have now fulfilled. Follow this one, she will be your guide to me.'' the whispering voice said. "You calm yet?" Zyana asked after a moment. Skylar responded by slamming her heel into Zyana's shin. "Ok, now I'm calm." Skylar replied, and Zyana let her up. "Sorry about all that...first was a joke, second I was trying to get you to commit to it." Zyana explained. "My angel half hates me right now." "Yeah, can't imagine why..." Skylar grumbled. "Hey, there's no angel in you. Remember that." Zyana shot back. "Find someone to babysit her, I'll go get a car ready." "Ok." Skylar said, sighed, and went to call her sister about watching over Adina. Into the Unknown Clara sat down and started meditating. Earlier that day, she had learned of many more souls out in the plane system that were effectively weaker Erachi souls, souls that she could absorb into her being to give her more strength. ''Only the dead ones.'' She had declared when she decided to go. She had no intentions of ending someone's life just to give her strength. The harder part of leaving was convincing her husband, Caden, that she needed to go alone. He was not a fan of the idea whatsoever. It had taken the better part of an hour to convince him that she could take care of herself in the unknown planes. She was currently sitting on Erachus. It was a world that was dedicated to her and her old enemy, Vythica, a woman more commonly known as the Skulblaka. They were the only two beings in all of existence that could enter Erachus of their own free will. Anyone else would have to be brought their by them. And with Vythica dead, Clara was left the only true inhabitant of Erachus. She was sitting on a large, circular stone pillar, cross legged and her hands resting on her knees. While she meditated, she could see nearly all planes there were. She could also see the souls she would need to interact with. A smile crossed her face. She could truly go anywhere in a split second, anywhere she wanted. All but one plane interested her. Even the minor connection to it made her want to run away screaming. She didn't know what it was called, so she deemed it best to avoid it entirely. Grinning, she picked one of the smaller, less powerful planes and drew a line in the air with her finger. A black portal opened and she rose and stepped through, starting her new quest. ---- Kata sat in her room, reading the results of her fortieth attempt at harvesting the knowledge of her test subject. The results came back negative, and she punched the tube. "Dammit, Skulblaka. Please, I need you to share this with me." She pleaded. Inside the cryo-tube lay the unconscious body of the Skulblaka. "One of your powers was embodied by a man I know as Void. He is now the only person in all of existence that can truly kill you or Clara Renner so long as one of you lives. And he is an enemy of both my kind and the humans. He would be an enemy of you as well if you were awake. Please, cooperate and I can end this threat now. Show me how to defeat him." She begged the unconscious body before starting to run another test. "Kata, you in there?" Xylia's voice said at the door. She pressed a button which sucked the cryo-tube into the floor before going to answer. "Hey." She said, opening the door. "What's up?" She asked. "Extremists." Xylia replied. "We caught word of a group human extremists closing in on Morri's headquarters." "Where are they?" Kata asked, her tone changing to one of total seriousness. "One of the cities on Earth. Near her base." Xylia answered. "Should I send someone to handle them?" "No. No, I'll take care of this one myself. You are in charge while I am away." Kata said. Xylia caught the memo and left, allowing Kata to prepare for the upcoming journey. Kata turned and pressed a few buttons on her bedside table, which locked the cryo-tube under the floor. She fully attired herself and left her room, locking it. "What were those noises?" Aednat's voice asked. Kata turned and saw Aednat walking by. "Secret project." Kata replied. "Something that'll help in the future." "What is it?" Aednat asked. "Well that would kill the secret part, wouldn't it?" Kata replied. "I'm heading out to take care of some extremists. Xylia's in charge." Kata said and left. ---- Serra lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She simply pondering what her next mission was going to be, and thinking on Skylar's missing husband. She glanced at the wall and saw her Katana still sitting on it's rack. She hadn't used it in a while. She was a force to be reckoned with when she had it in her hands, but when she adopted a new assassin home, she was told to learn to master new weapons as easily. She went with what she already had a somewhat decent understanding of, and took up knives and throwing knives. Various knives, if she was honest. Her new favorite was the karambit knife, of which she had two. She flicked out one of her hidden blades and smiled fondly. The assassins' signature weapon had served her very well in the past, and she questioned why she hadn't thought of getting one herself years ago. Someone knocked on the door, and she rose up and answered it. To her slight surprise, it was Leah. "Good afternoon, master." She said, slightly sarcastic. "Where am I headed and who am I killing?" "I need you to come with me. Not a mission per se, but it is important." Leah replied. "Alright, should I bring any weapons?" Serra asked. "Just the hidden blades." Leah replied. Serra nodded and followed her out. Leah took her to a vehicle and drove her for a few hours until they reached a cliff overlooking a lake. Serra's eyebrows went up when she saw all but two of the fully-fledged assassins from their base standing around a lit brazier. While still in the car, Serra looked at Leah, eyes wide. Leah smirked and got out, Serra following behind her. They took positions behind the brazier, the other assassins watching. "Our creed can be explained in these words: ''La shay' haqiqah, koulo shay' moumkin'', We are assassins." Leah addressed the assembled group before turning and speaking directly to Serra. "Serra, we dedicate our lives to protecting the freedom of sentient life. I stood by a brazier not unlike this one, and become an assassin myself twenty years ago. Now, all these years later, I offer the choice to join us to you." Serra nodded once. Two assassins, each carrying a bucket, stepped forward. Inside the buckets were a strange black liquid. Serra look at it quizzically. She had been expecting the tongs to come out. "You see, the initiation, and the 'mark' of the Order is different in every branch. Here, we've taken to preferring marks that are more..." Leah trailed off and used the force to lift the liquids out of the buckets. They each formed into what looked like arm bands that would go from just above Serra's wrist to her elbow. Serra also noted that they had a metallic sheen to them. "...practical." Leah finished. "Permanently on my arms, I'll assume." Serra said as the bands returned to the buckets. "Pretty much." Leah replied. Serra walked over to the buckets, rolled her sleeves up to her shoulders, and dipped her fingers in the fluid. It trailed up her arms and formed the armbands. They were skin tight-no, it felt as though they had become her skin. When they were in place, she looked at the inside of each of her forearms. A skin design had been left, little bits of her skin uncovered to design the assassin symbol on her arms. She felt the formality in the area break a little bit. "Looks like you're one of us now." Leah said, sounding slightly proud. "What'd you get?" Serra asked, gazing at her arms. "Well, considering I got initiated through the Eastern branch..." Leah said and showed Serra her branding. "Ah. I was expecting a tattoo, myself." Serra admitted. "Well..." Leah said and gestured to the cliff edge. "One more thing to do before this is complete." As if on cue, the other assassins, one by one, leaped from the cliff and into the lake water below. Leah smiled at her cousin. "Don't worry. First one's a little nerve racking. After that, it becomes a bit of a rush." Leah said, turned and dove off the cliff. Serra shook her head. She had never performed a leap of faith before in her life. "Take that, grandma. I told you being a meth cook's bastard wouldn't faze me." Serra grinned. Then, she thought about the assassins she had served before. She remembered their violent teachings and torturous punishments for the slightest error. She had to admit, training with the coalition assassins was a cakewalk compared to the training of her youth. She felt tears well up instinctively as she remembered her katana slashing through the murderers she had once called friends. She had learned of their treacheries and how they had slaughtered innocents. How they had made ''her'' slaughter innocents. She remembered a news reporter she had beheaded only to find his daughter in the next room, and she stared blankly into space. She could never get the look in the girl's eyes out of her mind. She shook her head and wiped her eyes with her now midnight-black forearm. She gazed at the cliff edge, and smiled briefly. Then she took off sprinting and jumped into open air. ---- Kata gazed down her binoculars at the large transport as it headed down the mountain. She quickly floated down after it, floating over the thing and moving several hundred meters in front of it. She dropped down from the air and landed harmlessly on the road. She looked up at the transport and smirked as the driver brought it to a halt. The windshield obscured any details of the driver, so Kata flicked her hand and sent the driver's door flying off. She walked over to the driver and looked up at them. "Jesus christ, Kata, do you chaos sense thingy!" Viv said indignantly. "Oh. Viv. Shit, sorry, I thought this was an extremist transport." Kata said. "We caught them sneaking onto the property, it's funny how fast they run when Axel goes fire god." Viv replied. "Can you fix the door, I'm dropping the assholes off at the security station." "Why not kill them?" "Because unlike you, they can arrest us. Fix the door and get in, I'll take you to visit Morri and the others after lunch." Viv said. Kata quickly fixed the door before climbing in the passenger seat. "So why're you on Earth?" Viv asked. "Isn't that, you know, insanely dangerous?" "Extremely, but I caught wind of you guys in danger and came as fast as I could. You'd be amazed what a hood will do to fool security cameras." Kata said. "What, you think we can't handle ourselves?" Viv asked and resumed driving. "I was going to offer a more permanent solution to your problem." Kata replied. "Well, we try to avoid drawing any excess attention. Besides, I've got an arrangement with head of security. Anybody I bring him he knows to lock up for a while." "When you say arrangement, do you mean...?" Kata said, trailing off. "I have standards!" Viv exclaimed. "One, he's married, two, I tend to refrain from such casual occurrences unless I have gone without for months." Viv ranted. "Ok, ok, calm down." Kata said, holding her hands up in surrender. "Just checking, never know with you." "Anyway, how're things on Skully world?" Viv asked. "Fine...somewhat. We've been reduced to sending Xylia and Aednat on thieving missions for meds and food." Kata answered. "There's a lot of game on the planet, but it's hard to hunt without crushing the creatures to death or leaving them as a puddle. And we haven't found any healers yet." "I'm sorry to hear that. Morri uses her connections to get food shipments sent up, as well as meds. The rest of us just help teach the young'ins and keep people like these out." Viv said, rapping her knuckles on the back wall of the transport. They drove down the mountain and reached a small city. Viv stopped in the outskirts and handed Kata a slip of paper. "Meet me here, can't have you coming into the security station with me. Would cause of a bit of an upset, eh?" "Yeah, I'll be there." Kata said and turned away, flipping her hood up and walking into the city as Viv drove past her. Us Viv pulled in the driveway of the mansion a few hours later. She had been catching up with Kata at a local diner for an hour before they began their drive back. At that moment, she had been telling Kata about some of their new students. "This one girl, sixteen years old, she's a nookie powered amazon. Another one, a thirteen year old boy can make you lose control of some of your internal functions, and makes you either projectile vomit or, worse still, projectile shit." "I'm kinda glad you have that one." Kata said. Viv parked in the garage and led Kata out to the backyard. There, they saw a few younger kids kicking a ball about, and over by the entrance, sitting on a bench, was Ileana, reading a book Viv remembered Morri giving her. Ileana looked up and saw them. "Kata!" Ileana cried, grinning. Kata took off and a full sprint towards the girl and immediately hugged her tightly. "You've grown." Kata said emotionally. "Please stop doing that." "Yeah, no, I don't think I will." Ileana replied. "Well, you haven't changed. How have you been?" Kata asked, releasing her and crouching down on one knee so they were eye-level. "Good, very good." Ileana replied, smiling. "What's that you were reading?" "History book on the French Revolution." Ileana said. "Really? Pretty far back. Morri have you studying?" Kata asked. "Yeah...I wanted to read up on the war with the Locust and Lambent, but she told me to read this instead." "Well, the French Revolution is far more interesting. Besides, we can relate somewhat." Kata said, smiling. "What do you mean?" "Well, the government doesn't care about the people, people need to fight for freedom and their rights. Isn't that what we're doing?" Kata asked. "Not all of them. Morri's visited Kaven a few times to negotiate with their leaders. I've even gone with her a few times to visit SELAH." Ileana replied. "Just stay careful when you go there, alright?" Kata requested as the door to the mansion opened. "Kata!" Morri's voice said. Kata turned to be met by a bear hug from Morri, which she returned. "Are you infecting her with lies again?" Morri joked. "No, no, I learned my lesson last time. Ileana, Morri's been behaving herself, right?" Kata asked the girl. "I don't know. Are you and Axel ''behaving'' Morri?" Ileana asked. "No, they are ''not''!" Viv's voice came from inside the door. "If dust falls on my noodles from the ceiling again I will ''kill'' you both!" Kata immediately smirked as Morri went red. Ileana snickered. "Oh, quiet." Morri said, shaking her head. "Any boyfriends yet, Ileana?" Kata asked. "Not yet..." "Good, I don't need to beat anyone up while I'm here." Kata said, relieved. "Wait...not yet? Are you looking for one?" Morri asked, sounding panicked. "No, not really." Ileana replied, shrugging. "Thank god. Anyway, you're welcome to join us for dinner tonight, Kata." Morri offered her old friend. "Thank you. I need to leave late tonight anyway." Kata said, nodding. Ileana looked down, a sad expression on her face. "I know, kiddo." Kata said and ruffled Ileana's hair. The door opened and Vivien walked out with Axel. "Food. Now." Viv ordered them. "Ax, apparently we give Viv dust." Morri quickly said. Axel tilted his head to one side, a look of absolute confusion on his face. After dinner that night, they went to the basement to watch the older students sparring with their powers. Kata sat and watched with Corina and Ileana. Corina was visibly nervous around Kata, which she ignored. Later that evening, Morri and Axel sparred in an exhibition match for the students. After a half hour, it was declared a draw, and Viv and Dex ran out to put out the fires while Morri came and sat next to Kata. "He burned my god damn ''hair''. Now I have to cut it." She said indignantly. "Glad it was you, not me." Corina said. Kata made a mental note that Corina's weakness was fire. "Ileana, so you know, the key to love is being able to beat each other up like crazy and share a bed that night without trying again." Morri told the girl. Ileana gave a confused look to Corina who shrugged in response. "Well...I'm afraid I should be going." Kata said sadly. Ileana quickly hugged Kata, a gesture returned by the older woman. "Don't worry, love. We'll see each other again soon." Kata told her. "I hope so." Ileana replied. "I'll walk you out, Kata." Morri offered. Kata nodded, kissed Ileana on the forehead, and the two started to walk out. "Morri, before I go, you need to something. Void is still out there." Kata said. "I know. He actually attempted to gain refuge here, but we turned him away for killing Nick." Morri said. "His power's stop anything from harming him, but a well placed portal beneath his feet puts him on another world far from here." "Well done." Kata said, smiling. "Also, you need to be careful. My intelligence has it that the humans' Erachi has left the plane. This leaves everyone open to attack." "Yes, it does. If things go badly here, I do plan on moving us to your planet. That includes Corina." Morri said. "I...understand." Kata grumbled. "Before I go...do you know why Void has it out for me?" "You mean why he has it out for us all. He embodies nothing. That's what he wants. He wants nothing left standing in this plane, then he'll move on to the next one. He's just waiting for the right time to strike. I guess Clara unwittingly created a new Skulblaka when she merged the planes." "I guess so." Kata said, though she glanced slightly to her left as she said it. She reached up and touched Morri's singed hair. "You'll do well with it short, but grow it out again asap." Kata requested. "Why, you more attracted to the long stuff?" Morri joked. "Oh, shut up." Kata said and embraced her old friend. Once they broke apart, Kata's hands and eyes began to glow red and she floated up into the sky and out of sight. ---- "Jaysus..." Clara grumbled as she stepped through the portal. The first thing she noticed was the light. The sunlight was utterly blinding. She blinked once, entering her Erachi state. Her eyes went white and she was able to dim the sunlight down to a decent level for herself. The next thing she noticed was the heat. It was absolutely sweltering. Within a minute, her clothes were soaked through with sweat. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. It was a desert, with small wooden huts lining the sand in every direction for as far as her eye could see. She also saw a large group of black-cloaked humanoids charging her, holding spears. Clara held her hands up, hoping that signified surrender to these people. They formed a circle around her, spears pointed straight for her. Clara looked around and spotted a graveyard about four dozen kilometers away. One particular grave was swirling with a red mist-like energy. "Don't have time for this." Clara grumbled. She jumped over them, glad to experience a resurgence in at least some of her Erachi abilities, and sprinted for the graveyard. It only took her seven seconds. She crouched down next to the mist and touched it with her finger. "Do you want to come with me?" She asked it in a voice no louder than a whisper. She felt a presence push against her mind, and, without words, Clara recognized the feelings of assent. She nodded and opened her palm. The mist was sucked into her skin and she felt the familiar sensation of all the memories of her fellow Erachi being absorbed into her own soul. However, it lasted longer, and the memories changed. In fact, many of the memories seemed to be from different people. ''Wait...this Erachi had absorbed other Erachi as well!'' Clara realized. ''Why would she have been able to do that...?'' She asked herself. She tapped into the memories of the Erachi in question and started sifting around for the answer. She found it as she watched the final duel between her and Vythica from the eyes of someone else. ''You were there...why?'' Clara thought and scanned a little further forward. She watched as she stabbed Vythica and Vythica vanished in a cloud of grey smoke. The foreign Erachi went into her own Erachi state. Everything was Dark. Clara glowed red and everyone else glowed blue. The cloud of grey smoke also glowed red. "Why is everything me related red?" Clara asked herself. "Wait...the smoke is red too..." She remembered the smoke dissipating, but also remembered the red energy flying off into space. "That must mean...you're alive, aren't you, Vythica?" Clara asked aloud. "Wait...why are you red too...?" She muttered as she duly noted a spear being flung at her head by some of the locals. She took a few steps forward and started pacing, ignoring the attacks from the local people. Then she remembered. ''Back when we fought, her style was identical to mine. I could only beat her by using the styles of everyone else. Why is she like me, and highlighted red in the Erachi-Vision?'' Distractedly, Clara started using small movements to dodge the physical swings and slashes of the locals' weapons. ''Wait a minute, there are more Erachi out there that I'm hunting down...and this last one had been doing the same thing. That must mean...'' Her eyes widened and she froze, reaching out with one hand and catching the hilt of a warhammer mid-swing. ''Vythica is an Erachi. The Erachi of her people.'' Her fist clenched and the warhammer handle shattered. The wielder spun and drew a sword, slashing for her shoulder. Clara held her hand out and within a second, a red broadsword appeared in her hand, blocking the attack. The local looked shocked and froze as Clara held his attack back with ease. She didn't even use both hands. She gazed at her sword and raised an eyebrow. ''Hmm, the cross-guard is much longer. The blade itself is wider and shorter. Almost a foot shorter.'' She sighed. ''No matter, I'll deal with it later.'' She decided and looked past her attacker. Fifty warriors were charging at her, various forms of weaponry in hand. ''Damn. By the time I open a portal to Erachus they'd be upon me and I'd have to fight them there.'' She thought sadly. She looked up at the one who had locked blades with her. "I'm sorry about this." She told him, just before she pressed back towards him slightly. His blade shattered and her own beheaded him. She stood and waited as the crowd of warriors descended on her. In a matter of seven seconds, all were on the ground, either dead or nursing injuries that crippled them. Clara turned, opened a portal to Erachus, and jumped through. She had a message to give to the people back at her home. ---- Serra stepped out of the warehouse and yawned. She had received a call from Leah that she was needed, and was to meet Leah in her car outside. She groaned and scratched the back of her head, slightly too lazy to put her hood up. She spotted Leah's car and started walking towards it. She opened the door and sat down next to Leah. "This is abrupt, you know that?" Serra asked. "So...what went on in there?" Leah asked. "Smuggler's den." Serra replied and took her cloak off. She held her arms up and revealed a trio of tattoo-like rings placed just above each of her arm-bands the assassins had given her. "Wanted some additions." "Those tattoos?" Leah asked, sounding surprised. "Nah. They had more of that stuff you guys put on me. A couple of solid black chunks just looked stupid." Serra answered. "So where are we headed...and why are my weapons in the back?" "We're heading back to the cliffs. Clara Renner needs you. Don't ask why, I don't know either." Leah said and started driving. "Ok then. Listen...there's something that you probably ought to think about." Serra carefully said. "What?" "There may come a day when you are forced to choose between your job and your familial duties. Should that day arrive, I want you to choose your family over us." Serra said. "I...understand." "No offense or anything, but sometimes the leadership roles are better suited for those of us without kids or husbands or wives." Serra went on. ''I wonder if this has anything to do with IceBite breaking.'' Leah thought to herself. "Besides, a leader like that doesn't have a family to be used against them." Serra continued. "I understand." Leah said, nodding. "So...just think about people you might find suitable replacements should that day arrive." Serra said and gazed out the window for the rest of the drive. When they arrived, they saw Clara sitting on a rock, arms crossed and legs crossed, staring at the water. "By the way." Leah said as Serra was getting out. "Ole glowy-metal-head is back." "Somehow that does not surprise me. Thanks for the ride, you should head home now." Serra replied. "Alright, no problem." Leah replied and took off once Serra had obtained all of her weapons. Serra turned and walked up to Clara. "So you didn't put her away last time. Why do you need me?" Serra asked. "Listen, Serra, I know I failed to stop her last time, but now I know why and how to stop her for good. But...someone needs to do some stuff for me while I'm away, and nobody has the right capabilities like you do." Clara said. "What do you mean? There are plenty of talented fighters and assassins out there. What have I got?" Serra asked. In response, Clara drew a line in the air with her hand, and a swirling black portal opened. "Come with me and I'll show you." Clara said and held her hand out. Serra hesitated a moment. ''Ah, fuck it. Another leap of faith I guess.'' She thought and allowed Clara to pull her through the portal. Blade in the Crowd Leaps of Faith Broken Worlds Wrath of the Void Holocaust of the Shunned Family Matters Ultimatum Terminus